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Tag: Chorizo

A good winter warmer. Tomato and Chorizo Pasta is simple and quick to make. Use any pasta shape you like. I think penne or a shell type pasta works best.

Ingredients

Olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed or finely chopped

1-2 fresh chillies to taste, or some chilli flakes

2-4 fresh medium tomatoes, chopped (I don’t skin them but you can)

100ml double cream (more or less to taste)

1 chorizo (cooked), chopped or sliced

Some of the pasta cooking water to loosen

Basil leaves

Parmesan for sprinkling

Method

Put on a big pot of salted boiling water for the pasta.

Put the chopped onions and chilli in some olive oil and soften them gently till the onions are translucent and soft. This can take up to 20 minutes.

Add the garlic once the onions are soft. (Garlic cooks much quicker than the onions and easily burns to the bottom of the pan if put in too early.)

Put the pasta in the boiling water. I use dried pasta and it takes about 10 minutes to cook.

While the pasta cooks add the tomatoes and salt to the onions, chilli and garlic. Let this simmer gently till the tomatoes are soft.

Just before serving add the chorizo and the cream to taste. Warm through but don’t cook (if the chorizos need to be cooked add them alone and a bit earlier).

Stir in some fresh basil and/or parsley.

Drain the penne (keeping the cooking water) when cooked and serve with the sauce. Garnish with pepper and parmesan as your fancy takes you.

Tips

I like good smoky Spanish chorizo for the tomato and chorizo pasta. I find six inches of chorizo good for two to three people. I strip any skin or membrane before I cut them up by cutting along one side of the sausage. I find the membrane usually peels off easily.

Using raw chorizo should be equally nice, in which case I might put some fennel seeds in too because it feels right.

A lovely cod and chorizo stew with a Spanish element. It makes a great bowl dinner and is great served with pieces of nice bread and butter. Based on a Tom Kerridge recipe but changed a little.

Fish wise this works fine with Cod or any other similar white fish. Just watch the cooking time. Less is more. Fish overcooks very easily and becomes unpleasant.

This a good freezer dish because you can make the tomato chorizo stew part in advance and freeze it. Then the fish can be done after defrosting and reheating, with the spinach added at the end.

If you are not keeping the stew for later do the fish part first as it needs at least an hour in the saffron.

Ingredients

4 tbsp olive oil

2 onions, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 red chillies, chopped

4 cooking chorizos (we find the raw chorizo style sausages that are a bit like a British banger work quite well, or you can go for the more Spanish style but they may be a bit more intense)

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp smoked paprika

2 bay leaves

1 cinnamon stick

200ml chicken stock

400g tin chopped tomatoes

1 can butter beans, drained and rinsed

Salt and black pepper, to taste

1 pinch saffron

4 pieces of cod loin (skinned), nice thick pieces about 5-6cm square and 2-3cm thick if you can find them

200g spinach leaves

Cod and chorizo stew

Method

Lay out a piece of cling film for each cod fillet on the counter. Lightly break up the saffron with a mortar and pestle and sprinkle half of it over the cling film. Put each cod fillet on top of the saffron cling film then sprinkle the remaining saffron over the tops. Wrap tightly in the cling film and place in the fridge for 1-2 hours. (If you are making the stew and then freezing it then skip preparing the fish until you defrost and want to heat the dish.)

Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3.

Place a casserole on the heat with the olive oil then add the onions, grated garlic and red chillies and cook over a medium heat for 10-12 minutes, or until the onion has softened.

Skin the chorizo sausages then slice into bite-sized chunks and add it to the casserole. Cook for a further 5 minutes, or until the red paprika oil comes out of the sausage. Add the cumin, paprika, bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Cook for a further 3-4 minutes.

Add chicken stock and tinned tomatoes. Bring to the boil then cook in the oven for 45 minutes.

Remove from the oven and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir in the drained can of beans.

Take the cod from the fridge then remove the cling film, and place on top of the cooking stew, replacing the lid. Don’t submerge it. The cod will sit on top of the sauce and cook in the steam from the casserole.

Transfer to the oven for 12-15 minutes, or until the fish is cooked. (Thin fillets may only need 5-6 minutes, beware of overcooking.)

Take the casserole from the oven then gently lift the fish from the pot and place on a warmed plate.

Stir the spinach and stir into the stew until it is just wilted.

Serve the cod and chorizo in bowls. Spoon some stew into the bowl then place the cooked fish on top. Serve with good fresh bread and butter on the side.

Many countries have their own version of an open omelette like this Tortilla with Chorizo. The Italians have frittata, the Spanish tortilla. In France it is Spanish omelette. You can make this veggie by adding more onion and no chorizo. Red pepper could appear, it’s up to you.

The time-consuming part of the recipe can be done in advance. That’s cooking the onion and potato with the herbs. It can be done well in advance, then reheated and cooking the chorizo for a few minutes, before adding the egg and spinach.

Method

Heat the oil a medium sauté pan or frying pan with a lid over a medium heat. Gently fry the potatoes, onion, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, rosemary, Espelette pepper and salt for 13–15 minutes. Stir regularly to avoid any colouring.

Add the chorizo and fry for 5 minutes with the lid on so the flavours mingle.

Pick out the bay leaves any large sprigs of herb, then add the parsley and spinach and stir for 30 seconds. I put the lid on to cause the spinach to wilt down slightly, otherwise, it can be a bit unruly. Remove from the heat, add the eggs and stir until evenly mixed.

Pour the egg mixture into a 20cm non-stick, ovenproof frying pan (or, if it is suitable just use the pan you have been cooking with) and place in the oven for 15 minutes, until cooked. Leave to rest for 5 minutes before turning out on to a board or a large serving dish.

Cut the tortilla into 4–6 wedge-shaped slices and serve warm.

Tortilla with Chorizo offers hundreds of opportunities for interpretation using different vegetables and herbs – be as creative as you like.